The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for an opportunistic handling of freed data in data de-duplication.
Flash storage is any data repository or system that uses flash memory. The size and complexity of such systems ranges from portable Universal Serial Bus (USB) drives to enterprise-class array-based memory systems. Flash storage uses electricity and has no mechanical parts. Flash storage typically consumes only 20% of the power of traditional mechanical hard drives and reads more than one hundred times faster than traditional mechanical hard drives. Most flash storage systems are composed of a memory unit and an access controller. The memory unit is used to store data. The access controller manages and controls access to the storage space on the memory unit. Data is written onto NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, or a combination of the two.